Fresh Start
by TehNicksterBoi
Summary: Percy moves to New York to escape his past, yet he wonders if escaping is still possible.
1. Do-over

"Alright class," Mr. D said sounding extremely bored. "We have a new student. Peter Johnson was it?" The boy shook his head.

"Percy Jackson, sir." The boy said.

"Ah yes. Sorry about that," He didn't sound very sincere. "Anyways, pick an empty seat. You got the down low from the principal, correct? When lunch is, where your locker's at, and all that other good stuff?"

Percy nodded. Mr. D seemed satisfied, and sat down, right as the morning announcements came on. Percy chose a random desk in the middle of a pretty girl with dark black hair, and a mischievous looking Latino boy. He sat down, and hung his backpack on his chair. He turned to the girl.

"Hi. I'm Percy." He said in a friendly way.

The girl looked him up and down for a moment, and then she turned her head back to the front of the room. Percy frowned. This wasn't going as well as he'd hoped. Someone tapped his shoulder, and he turned to see the Latino boy, with a huge grin on his face.

"Don't mind the Ice Queen. She needs to get used to you first. I'm Leo, by the way."

At least this kid seemed nice.

"Percy Jackson." The kid nodded.

"I gathered that that was your name. The way you said your name out loud to the whole class kinda gave it away." The kid said. Percy had to smile.

"You gonna have lunch with us, Mr. Percy Jackson?" Percy nodded.

"Sounds like a plan." He responded with a smile.

* * *

Several classes later, Percy was munching on a slice of pepperoni pizza, as he sat with Leo and his friends. So far, he had been introduced to a guy named Jason, a big blond, muscled guy, his girlfriend Piper, a beautiful girl, and Frank and his girlfriend Hazel. Percy deduced that they had just started dating; they were still awkward around each other. The so-called "Ice Queen" was there too. She hadn't said anything all lunch.

"So Percy, would tell us about yourself? What's in your past?" Jason said, breaking the silence. Percy laughed a little bit.

"Oh c'mon, you couldn't possibly be interested in that!" He said. Jason shrugged.

"I'm a little interested…!" He said.

"Same here," chipped in Hazel. Percy gave in.

"I've had a pretty typical life. I mean, nothing out of the ordinary has happened or anything like that. I grew up with my mother, never knew my dad, and I used to live in California. Lived there for all sixteen years of my life, then one day, my mother decided that we needed a change of scenery. We packed up, and moved across the country to here, good old New York City." Percy finished, and took another bit of pizza.

"Wasn't it hard, to just leave like that? Leave everything you've ever known behind, people, places, things like that?" Piper asked. Percy put his hands in his lap where nobody could see them. And then he balled his hands into fists.

"No. No it wasn't."

* * *

Percy walked into his new apartment and called out a "hello!" to his mother, who didn't respond.

"Still at the publishing office I guess…" He said.

Percy's mother was an aspiring writer, and she had been going in every few days to talk to the book bigwigs. So for now, he had the house to himself. He plopped down on his bed, and unlocked his phone, going through the contacts. He had gotten everyone's number during lunch, except Ice Queen. Percy frowned. He wished he knew her real name. he selected Leo from his contact book.

_Hey, you know that girl that sits next to me in Mr. D's class? The one you called the Ice Queen? What's her name?_ He sent it, then pulled book out of his backpack and began reading. After a while, the quiet began to bother him. He connected his phone to his speakers, and began playing a bunch of Rise Against through his speakers. He smiled.

"A good book, and some kick-ass music. Perfect." He said in a satisfied tone. He went back to his book.

* * *

Percy's phone played the intro to Dirt and Roses, letting him know he had a message. He picked it up, and saw it was Leo's response.

_Her name is Reyna. Why? Does the new kid have a crush on the unattainable girl? ;)_ Percy rolled his eyes.

_I was just curious. Thanks man._ He typed.

_No problem. See ya tomorrow._ Was Leo's final message.

Percy heard a door open. His mother was back. Percy paused his music, and then went down to meet her.

"Hey Mom!" He said. "How'd things go?"

Sally Jackson smiled at the boundless energy of her son. He was definitely better, now that they had moved. But Sally didn't like thinking about the past.

"The gears are still spinning, o' child of mine," She said. Percy smiled. "So I was thinking that in honor of our… fresh start…" She said those words carefully, but Percy only tensed. "…That we should go out for some New York pizza. Sound good to you?" Percy relaxed.

"Sure Mom. That sounds great! Everyone always rants about how good it is." Sally smiled.

"Excellent. We'll leave in an hour or so."

Line

A little while later, Percy was munching on yet another pizza slice as he told his mother about his day at school.

"I met some nice people, made a few friends. Things are going well." He said.

"Well, that's great," Sally said. "I think we can be happy here."

"You really think so?" Percy asked, and his mother saw a glimmer of his old self in his eyes.

"Yes, I do." She said seriously. Percy nodded slowly.

"I hope so too…" He said softly, "I hope so too."

* * *

Percy was lying in bed, wide awake. He had been having problems ever since the incident. What little sleep he did get was interrupted by hellish nightmares, and terrible torments. They were always about the past. He hated his past. Percy sighed, and got up, turning on his light.

"Well, there'll be no sleep tonight, so I might as well read…" Percy put on some soft, but sad music, and began to read.

Line

_"Oh quit it Seaweed Brain!" Annabeth laughed as Percy continued his relentless tickling. "Ahh, stop, stop!"_

_ She finally writhed free of Percy's fingers, tears of laughter still streaming down her face. Percy grinned, and laid down next to his girlfriend. They were in his room, laying on his bed, content with each other's' company. Annabeth turned on her side, put her hand on Percy's chest, and placed her head under his. Percy kissed the top of her head, and he could feel her smile._

* * *

The dream had started well enough, but it left Percy screaming. He wished it would end.

He just wanted it to end.

* * *

**So this is gonna be my new "long" story. I have no idea how long it's gonna be, hence the quotation marks :P **

**I'm accepting prompts, so if you want some kind of story, PM me the details. Thanks!**

**That's all I really have to say. See ya!**

**-Nick**


	2. Problems

_"Home! Home! This house is not a, home!" Three Days Grace, Home_

* * *

Percy yawned as he boarded the bus for his second day at his new school. His bus was never very crowded, so he always got a seat by himself. He put in his ear buds, cranked up his music, and closed his eyes, resting his head against the window. Sleeping had been hard for him last night, but he had managed to catch a few hours between nightmares. He shut out all thought and focused on his music.

_Whumph._

He felt the weight of someone sitting down behind him. He opened his eyes, and jerked in surprise when he saw that it was Reyna. He didn't even know she rode his bus! Reyna noticed him looking.

"Hi." She said emotionlessly. "I'm gonna sit here." Percy slowly nodded.

"That's cool." She put in her own ear buds, and stared intensely at the back of her seat. Percy craned his neck to see what she was listening to.

"You like Three Days Grace?" He asked. Reyna locked her phone.

"That's none of your business." She snapped. Percy held up his hands.

"Okay. Sorry, my bad." He leaned his head back against the window, shooting one last sideways glance her way.

Percy kept looking at Reyna the whole ride to school. She seemed to be really tense about something, and kept looking frustrated and anxious all at the same time. It was in Percy's nature to try and help people, but she seemed to keep shutting everyone out. He didn't think too much of it. He understood that behavior. It's what he was like in the past. He unlocked his phone, and put on a happy song. He didn't want to think of the past.

* * *

School passed quickly and uneventfully, but for once, Percy didn't want it to be. The whole reason for his move to New York was centered on his past, and a deal he had made with his mother. She had promised him that they could move to a place of his choosing, so they could escape and have a fresh start, but in turn, Percy had to come to terms with his past and see a counselor. Percy had readily agreed. He hated counselors, but he would do anything for a chance to start over. Percy walked in the door, set his school stuff down, gave his mother a hug, and then they were off to the counselor's.

Imagine his surprise when he walked into the counseling building and saw Reyna sitting there.

Their eyes met at the same time. Reyna's face drained of all color and she looked down at her lap in a weak attempt to hide her face. Percy's face flushed. He sat down on the other side of the room, and put his hands in his lap. His mother looked at him worriedly.

"You look like you just saw a ghost…" She murmured quietly. Percy shook his head.

"I'm fine. Just… nervous, that's all." He smiled at her, and Sally sat back, reassured.

A little while later, a lady walked out and called, "Reyna Arellano?"

Reyna got up without looking at Percy, and followed the lady into a hallway. Percy sighed. He really didn't want to be here. Another lady walked out.

"Percy Jackson?" Percy stood. The woman smiled. "Come with me." Percy's mother gave him a thumbs-up and he offered a half-hearted smile in return. It was the last thing he did before the door shut, and he followed his counselor into a room. He sat down on a couch.

And they began talking.

And they talked.

And they talked..

And they talked...

* * *

An hour later, Percy walked back through the door that divided the hallway to the counseling rooms and the waiting rooms. His mother looked up from her magazine and smiled. They walked out the door, and into the car.

"So, how was your first session?" She asked. Percy shrugged.

"We're scratching the surface." He said. Sally nodded.

"Okay." She said. "You want to drive home?" She asked. Percy smiled.

"Sure I do!" They got out and switched sides. The two buckled up, and Percy drove them home.

* * *

Reyna pulled into the driveway. She probably shouldn't have been driving in her emotional state. She had been tempted to crash her car at least three different times. Somehow she had resisted, and arrived home safely. Not that home was a place of safety at the moment. She got out of her car, and walked inside. She could hear yelling from upstairs, not exactly an uncommon occurrence. Her mother and father were always bitching at something or another. Sometimes her dad had another woman in their bed, other times her mother would get piss-drunk at the club and get thrown out. Sometimes they fought about Reyna. Sometimes she would get caught in the crossfire. Sometimes she would get hurt.

She walked up the stairs as quietly as she could, stepping over the fourth from the top. It made a loud creak when any weight was put on it. She crept past her parents room, and went into hers, collapsing on the bed. Her mind was racing. She expected her parents to start filing for divorce any day now. There was never a happy moment in the house anymore. Then this Percy Jackson kid started showing up everywhere. What the hell was with that, huh? Fate seemed to enjoy playing tricks on her. She hadn't had too much contact with him, but something was clearly up with him too. She tried not to care, but curiosity was in her nature. She couldn't quite quell her interest in Jackson. Maybe things would become clear one day. A door slammed downstairs, interrupting her thoughts.

_Well… one problem at a time._ She thought dryly.

* * *

**I'm, gonna keep disguising Percy's past. It's fun to imagine you all squirming and wondering what's going on. It'll probably be revealed mainly through flashbacks, I haven't decided yet.**

**I'm actually ****_really_**** proud of how this is going so far. You have no idea. I'm falling in love with writing this. I hope you're enjoying it too :)**

**-Nick**


End file.
